Indy 500 blog: Rookie Alexander Rossi wins on fumes
Rookie Alexander Rossi crosses the finish line as he runs out of fuel to become the first rookie to win the Indianapolis 500 since Helio Castroneves in 2001.
Rossi, a 24-year-old who started 11th, accomplishes the feat in the 100th running of the race. He had so little fuel left, he needed a tow to get to victory circle to celebrate.
"I have no idea how we pulled that off," Rossi said in victory lane. "We struggled a little in the pit stops ... I can't believe that we've done this."
"I didn't know (if he had enough fuel on the closing laps)," he said. "Ryan (Hunter-Reay) was giving me a tow at the end. I'm just thankful to do this on the 100th running.
"We rolled the dice and it came through."
Carlos Munoz, his Andretti Autosport teammate, finished second. Josef Newgarden takes third, followed by Tony Kanaan and Charlie Kimball.
Newgarden: "I felt like I had a car to win the thing. It didn't fall our way."
Pole sitter James Hinchcliffe finished seventh, three-time champ Helio Castroneves 11th and defending and two-time champ Juan Pablo Montoya finished last. Montoya became the third to driver to win one year and finish last the next (Jimmy Bryan, Johnny Rutherford).
There were 54 lead changes, second-most to the 68 in 2013.
More from the race:
• Rossi is the 10th rookie to win, the first since Helio Castroneves in 2001.
• In the last six races, the winner took the lead in the final four laps.
• Michael Andretti's team has its fourth winning car. Bryan Herta, co-owner of Rossi's car, wins for the second time (2011).
• First-time lap leaders include Rossi, Newgarden, Sage Karam and Bryan Clauson.
• Biggest movers: Alex Tagliani improved 16 spots, from 33rd to 17th; Ryan Hunter-Reay moved down 21 spots, from third to 24th.
• Tagliani is the third last-place starter to lead (Tom Sneva, 1980; Phil Shafer, 1925, in a 22-car field).
• 763 people have started an Indianapolis 500.
Lap 200: Alexander Rossi slows considerably while trying to make it on fuel.
Lap 196: Carlos Munoz pits for fuel. Alexander Rossi leads with Helio Castroneves second.
Lap 195: Josef Newgarden pits for fuel.
Lap 193: Tony Kanaan pits for fuel.
Carlos Munoz takes the lead.
Lap 190: Newgarden, Munoz, Kanaan, Hinchcliffe, Dixon.
This is quickly becoming a fuel strategy race, and it appears Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud have an advantage.
Lap 185: Josef Newgarden passes Tony Kanaan. Both will have to pit again.
Tony Kanaan gets Josef Newgarden back starting Lap 183.
Lap 180: Josef Newgarden gets by Tony Kanaan for the lead. James Hinchcliffe is another second behind. Kanaan started 18th. The winners of the past four 500s averaged a starting spot of 15.5. The other leaders were front-row starters.
Top 10 at Lap 175: Kanaan, Newgarden, Hinchcliffe, Hildebrand, Munoz, Dixon, Rossi, Tagliani, Kimball, Servia.
Restart on Lap 168: Tony Kanaan gets by JR Hildreband for the lead. Josef Newgarden takes second, then Hilderand and James Hincliffe. Helio Castroneves is 16th.
Crew to Helio: “We have a good car, we’ll do the best we can. We don’t have to stop, the rest of the cars do.”
Helio Castroneves isn't happy with JR Hildebrand, who appeared to nudge him from behind and dislodge the left rear wing.
During the caution, JR Hildebrand takes the lead. He famously led with one turn left in 2011 as a rookie. before crashing. This is the first time he has led since, and it is the 46th lead change.
Lap 163: Takuma Sato slows on the track, bringing out another caution after he hits the outside wall coming out of Turn 4. Kanaan, Hinchcliffe, Newgarden, Hildebrand, Munoz are the top five.
Lap 162: James Hinchcliffe takes the lead with JR Hildebrand charging. A piece of Helio Castroneves' back left wing loosens.
Restart on Lap 159: Castroneves is passed by three cars at the start/finish line. Tony Kanaan takes first, but Josef Newgarden gets him on the backstretch. Kanaan gets him back on the frontstretch.
During caution, Helio Castroneves returns to lead as others pit. Next: Tony Kanaan, Josef Newgarden, James Hinccliffe, Sebastien Bourdais, JR Hildebrand, Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Carlos Munoz, Takuma Sato. Tony Kanaan to crew: “So far I think we showed everybody what we came here to do."
Lap 150: We're three-fourths of the way through and we're under caution for Buddy Lazier, who lost his left front tire. The leaders were pitting under green at the time, allowing Carlos Munoz to assume the lead. He has led in three of his four starts. Takuma Sato is second, followed by Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Max Chilton and Spencer Pigot.
Lap 140: Helio Castroneves into the lead, followed by Tony Kanaan and James Hinchcliffe, Carlose Munoz and Josef Newgarden. Scott Dixon is sixth. Marco Andretti pits under green, costing him several spots. There have been 40 passes for the lead, second-most in race history.
Lap 132: Alexander Rossi overtakes Alex Tagliani for the lead. Kanaan, Hinchcliffe, Castroneves are next.
Alex Tagliani, who started last when he crashed in qualifying, takes the lead. He has led in his past six 500s. Townsend Bell passes Tagliani to gain a lap back. Bell had taken two pit stops after his pit road collision. He was penalized for it.
Restart on Lap 122: Rookie Alexander Rossi leads. He started 11th. Tagliani, Hinchcliffe, Castroneves, Kanaan next.
Alex Tagliani, Alexander Rossi and Simon Pageaud stayed out and took positions 1-2-3. Townsend Bell and Ryan Hunter-Reay returns to the pits for work after the collision. Helio Castroneves stayed out.
On Lap 118 caution: Andretti Autosport teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and Townsend Bell hit coming out of the pits. Bell hits Helio Castroneves, the caroms into Hunter-Reay.
Conor Daly: “We’re done. I’m fine, I think… I’m sorry guys."
Crew to Conor Daly: “You were a driving maniac today. You were bloody impressive. So sorry for you.”
Lap 115: Townsend Bell returns to the lead, and with all the swapping, Tony Kanaan falls out of the top five. Two-car crash involving Mikhail Aleshin and Conor Daly.
Sage Karam on his crash: "I wish I didn't go into Turn 1 side by side." He was trying to overtake Townsend Bell.
Lap 109: Tony Kanaan takes the lead heading into Turn 1. He has led in 12 of his 15 500 starts. Hunter-Reay gets him back.
There's passing all over the place. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan move to 1-2 by getting by Helio Castroneves.
Restart on Lap 105: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, James Hinchcliffe on the restart. At the end of the lap, Castroneves overtakes Hunter-Reay.
Top 10 at Lap 100: Clauson, Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Hinchcliffe, Bell, Andretti, Kanaan, Newgarden, Munoz, Rahal. Clauson then pits, giving Castroneves the lead again.
Pit stops during the caution: Bryan Clauson, who did not pit, gets the lead. It's his first time leading in race history and it's the 30th lead change on the day. Helio Castroneves comes out of the pits first and stands in second place, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe.
Lap 94: Sage Karam hits the outside wall in Turn 2 but gets out of the car under his own power. Caution.
Lap 90: Helio Castroneves takes the lead at the end of Lap 89. He has led in 11 of his 16 500 starts. James Hinchcliffe retakes the lead moments later.
Lap 89: James Hinchcliffe and Helio Castroneves move to P1 and 2 by sweeping by Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Juan Pablo Montoya on his crash: "It just happened."
Thirty drivers remain on the lead lap, all but Ed Carpenter, Juan Pablo Montoya and Buddy Lazier.
Lap 85: James Hinchcliffe has the lead again. Helio Castroneves moves up the third.
Lap 80: Ryan Hunter-Reay passes James Hinchcliffe one lap after the restart and gets the lead back. Being in second on the front straight is often an advantage heading into Turn 1.
Restart Lap 76: Hinchcliffe takes the lead coming down the front straight. Power is next, then Ryan Hunter-Reay, Townsend Bell and Josef Newgarden.
There are a few raindrops in the area, extending the caution.
Simon Pagenaud's crew: “If anybody gets a penalty it should be Aleshin, not us.”
Simon: “Let’s get back to it guys. That’s how Montoya won it last year."
Top five during caution: Will Power, James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, Townsend Bell. Simon Pagenaud is penalized and gets fuel during the drive-through.
Lap 67: Will Power leads as he stays out. When he was assessed a penalty, pit crew topped off the fuel, so he may be on a different strategy the rest of the way. Big round of pit stops after Montoya's crash: Hinchcliffe is first out of the pits, in second place. If Buddy Lazier can log enough laps, Juan Pablo Montoya could finish last one year after winning. That happened to Johnny Rutherford in 1976-77.
"It looks like we're done. The front of the car is [fudged]" - Montoya crew
Lap 64: Big hit by Juan Pablo Montoya in the outside of Turn 2 after a full spin. He gets out of the car under his own power. The defending and two-time race champ is out. His previous worst finish was fifth.
The record for lead changes was 68 in 2013. There's plenty of passing for the lead today.
Lap 60: James Hinchcliffe regains the lead with a pass of Ryan-Hunter Reay, followed by Bell, Newgarden, Munoz, Kanaan, Castroneves. Pagenaud from second to ninth.
Restart on Lap 55: Simon Pagenaud loses a lot of ground on the restart. Ryan Hunter-Reay keeps the lead.
“Let’s prepare for something crazy,” crew to Simon Pagenaud ahead of this restart.
Crew to Helio: “We’ve only run 48 laps here, so let’s use our heads. We’ve got a long way to race.”
Tony Kanaan reports touching the way along pit road to avoid another car pulling out of his pit box. Will Power is assessed a drive-through penalty for excessive pit road speed.
Lap 50: One-quarter of the way through and we're under caution. Three-time race champ Helio Castroneves is seventh. Sage Karam who started 23rd, is up to 11th. Defending champ Juan Pablo Montoya is 18th, one place behind his starting spot.
Lap 47: Yellow for debris on the track. More pit stops coming. Ryan Hunter-Reay comes out first and Simon Pagenaud second. Townsend Bell, Josef Newgarden and James Hinchcliffe follow.
Lap 42: Townsend Bell passes Ryan Hunter-Reay for the lead. Bell led one previous Indy 500 lap, in 2013.
Lap 40 leaders: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Townsend Bell, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Carlos Munoz. Pole sitter James Hinchcliffe is sixth.
Lap 32: Ryan Hunter-Reay returns to the lead after the pit sequence and extends it to 4 seconds. Sage Karam gets the lead as the pit sequence continues.
Lap 30: Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe make their first pit stops. Josef Newgarden takes the lead for the first time in an Indy 500.
Lap 25: Ryan Hunter-Reay leads James Hinchcliffe. Josef Newgarden has moved into third. Hondas power three of the top four. Hinchcliffe's stop is slow.
Lap 20: As James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay keep swapping positions up front, Townsend Bell is third, followed by Josef Newgarden, Mikhail Aleshin and Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Tony Kanaan, Carlos Munoz and Marco Andretti.
Lap 10: Tony Kanaan moves up from 18th to seventh. James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay continue to swap the lead, nine times in the first 13 laps. Buddy Lazier hasn't got on the track.
Lap 6: James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay trade the lead. RHR leads at the end of the lap.
Green flag drops: Pole sitter James Hinchcliffe gets the jump as the flag drops. Ryan Hunter-Reay passes and officially leads the first lap. It's clean.
Alex Tagliani touched the wall.
1996 champ Buddy Lazier pits before green.
Before the green flag
• James Hinchcliffe, who has come all the way back from a life-threatening practice crash last year, starts from the pole for the first time in his IndyCar career.
• Hinchcliffe is driving a Honda-powered car, and Hondas have more than held their own against the Chevrolets at IMS. Four of the top five starters are using Hondas, including the third (Ryan Hunter-Reay), fourth (Townsend Bell) and fifth (Carlos Munoz) starters, all from Andretti Autosport.
• Helio Castroneves, who starts ninth, is seeking his fourth Indy title, which would tie A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears for the most in race history. He drives for Team Penske, which has won the race a record 16 times. Also on the team: 2015 race runner-up Will Power (sixth), IndyCar points leader Simon Pagenaud (eighth) and defending and two-time race champ Juan Pablo Montoya (17th).
• Other race winners in the field: Buddy Lazier (1996), Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014).
• Ganassi Racing, which is usually a factor at Indy, struggled in qualifying: Scott Dixon starts 13th, Charlie Kimball 16th, Tony Kanaan 18th and Max Chilton 22nd.